Monday, January 5, 2009

****new release list no.201

Happy New Year! Here’s look to an interesting and eventful 2009!

Lots of new flicks in the store this week featuring some of the bigger names in the business…Seth Rogen and James Franco star in the stoner adventure movie PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. Nicolas Cage packs many loaded weapons in BANGKOK DANGEROUS. In RIGHTEOUS KILL, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino try again to make a wonderful film together. Ben Kingley plays a quirky therapist in the indie movie THE WACKNESS. Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh travel across futuristic Russia in BABYLON A.D. Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner garner accolades on stage in CYRANO DE BERGERAC.

On television we have the latest seasons of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (SEASON 4.0) and THE TUDORS (THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON). And we have a nice stack of new additions including the Antonioni film IDENTIFICATION OF A WOMAN and the Ken Russell story THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM.

Speaking of new additions, we have a huge thank you to say to a customer who has donated maybe 11 or 12 brand-new factory sealed DVD’s to us in the last few weeks, but we don’t know who it is! Who are you, oh generous friend? You come into the shop and find classic films that we do not have on DVD and you buy them and slip them gently through our mail slot as we sleep. You are kind and wonderful and we tip our caps to you.

Have any suggestions for Four Star Video in 2009? I have some ideas gestating in my brain, but as of now they are simply distracting sub-thoughts, without specificity (like so much of what goes on in my brain). Maybe you have the perfect idea? Please let me know, send me an email, drop me a note, or just corral me in the store sometime. Thanks for your support.

Love and Kisses, Ken

............//NEW RELEASES//............

ANOTHER CINDERELLA STORY.Comedy/Musical/Romance.Selena Gomez/Andrew Seeley.Directed by Damon Santostefano.* For the tiny bopper set, a version of the Cinder story with a boy searching for the girl he danced with at a costume party with just a few clues to base his search on.

BABYLON A.D.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****Sci-Fi/Action.Vin Diesel/Michelle Yeoh/Gerard Depardieu/Charlotte Rampling.Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz.* From the maker of GOTHIKA comes this futuristic tale of a mercenary (Diesel) who agrees to escort a strange young woman from Russia to the US.

BANGKOK DANGEROUS.****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****Suspense/Action.Nicolas Cage.Directed by Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang.* This is a remake of a movie with the same name made by the same directors! The current version is about a hitman (Cage) in Bangkok to make a handful of hits who becomes more emotionally involved with his go-between helper than he intended to.

BLIND MOUNTAIN.Drama/Foreign (Mandarin).Lu Huang.Directed by Yang Li.* Intense social commentary about a young woman who is kidnapped and sold into marriage in a small village in China.

THE BOOK OF REVELATION.Mystery/Romance/Thriller.Tom Long/Greta Scacchi/Colin Friels.Directed by Anna Kokkinos.* Weird looking erotic thriller from Australia.

CYRANO DE BERGERAC 2007.Stage.Kevin Kline/Jennifer Garner.Directed by Matthew Diamond.* A stage performance of the classic tale.

DISASTER MOVIE.Comedy.Directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer.* The next in a long line of spoof films.

FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON.****IN STORE ON WED****Drama/Family/Foreign (French/Mandarin).Juliette Binoche.Directed by Hsiao-hsien Hou.* Dreamy and hypnotic film based on the epic kids movie THE RED BALLOON.

THE GUATEMALAN HANDSHAKE.Comedy.Directed by Todd Rohal.* Indie film about a strange community and the mysterious disappearance of one of its residents.

THE LIZARD.Martial Arts/Foreign (Cantonese).Directed by Yuen Chor.* I quote directly “At first end, he is only portly seller of plum, no fight, father too so sick”. Then again, said reviewer also says “8 out of 10, Tom Cruise is so good! I wish for his husbandry.” Me, too, grasshopper. Me, too.

THE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****Action/Comedy.Seth Rogen/James Franco/Danny R. McBride/Bill Hader/Amber Heard/Rosie Perez.Directed by David Green.* Dude, like, if you are super into the kindest of the kind (knowing, of course, I am referring to the crystal kind {again, making assumptions that in your life it is 420 [trusting your trustworthiness] right now and always} green bud) green bud, like the kind that is fully traceable and totally small batch micro mcmonkable, then be as fully cognizant of your stash as possible on the off chance you become accidently witness to a murder, cuz if you leave your fully traceable stash there, as evidence, as evidenced by the story of this movie, possibly, potentially, in all senses of actuality there could maybe be murderers coming to look for you based on the knowledge of your possession of this weed which clearly placed you at the scene of the crime.

You know?

PING PONG PLAYA.Comedy.Jimmy Tsai/Roger Fan.Directed by Jessica Yu.* Sweet comedy about an Asian American who wishes he was a basketball star, but instead lives a suburban life helping his mother run ping pong classes.

RIGHTEOUS KILL. ****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****Drama/Crime.Robert De Niro/Al Pacino/.50 Cent/Carla Gugino/John Leguizamo/Donnie Wahlberg.Directed by Jon Avnet.* Two veteran Hollywood actors work to identify the possible connection between a recent bad script and a terrible movie they made years ago; is a stinker on the loose and are they perhaps making the same bad movie twice?*

* This entire movie treatment is untrue. But you knew that already, right?

THE WACKNESS. ****ALSO ON BLU-RAY****Comedy.Josh Peck/Ben Kingsley/Olivia Thirlby/Famke Janssen/Method Man.Directed by Jonathan Levine.* A movie about a kid in the mid 90’s who is selling weed in his last summer before college. Full of pervasive pot smoking and a truly pumping soundtrack, this one may not be for you.

WOMAN ON THE BEACH.Comedy/Drama/Foreign (Korean).Seung-woo Kim/Hyun-jung Go.Directed by Sang-soo Hong.* From the director of WOMAN IS THE FUTURE OF MAN, comes this latest comedy about an out-of-control movie director with writers block.

............//DOCUMENTARY//............

HAIR: LET THE SUN SHINE IN.Documentary.Keith Carradine/Tim Curry/Johnny Carson.Directed by Wolfgang Held and Pola Rapaport.* Tremendous archive footage and interviews combine to show the deep effect this musical has had over the years.

............//TELEVISION//............

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SEASON 4.0.Television/Sci-Fi.* The highly anticipated next season in the series about young people wearing tight clothing in space.

DUCKMAN: SEASONS 3 & 4.

TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED: SECOND SEASON.

THE TUDORS: THE COMPLETE SECOND SEASON. Television/Drama.Jonathan Rhys-Meyers* Season two in the sexy historical tale of the King and his conquests.

............// NEW BLU-RAY ADDITIONS//............

THE TRUMAN SHOW.* The disturbing and beautiful Jim Carrey film about a man whose entire life is a television show unbeknownst to him.

............// KIDS//............

NI HAO KAI-LAN: CELEBRATE WITH KAI-LAN!

SESAME STREET: ELMO LOVES YOU!

............// NEW ADDITIONS//............

BYE BYE BRAZIL.* First DVD of the 1979 Carlos Diegues movie. Aaron suggested we buy this after watching last week’s DVD release of DONA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS.